1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to teleservice messaging in a wireless communication network. More particularly, the invention concerns a system and method for providing an indication of maximum teleservice payload size to a teleservice message sending entity in order to avoid resegmentation and retransmission delays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Teleservice messaging is a form of communication that allows information payloads (e.g. displayable text, graphics, executables, etc.) to be sent to mobile wireless communication devices (e.g., cellular telephones) in manageable form. This type of messaging can be found in many species of wireless telecommunication systems, including those designed according to the TIA/EIA-41-D standard, the IS-2000 standard, the GSM standard, the UMTS standard, the IMT-2000 standard, and others. When a Mobile Station (MS), such as a wireless telephone, a wireless Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or any other device capable of disseminating teleservice messages, is sent teleservice messages containing a payload by a network sending entity, such as a Short Message Service (SMS) Center (SMSC), a Message Center (MC), a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Server, or any other content provider, no regard is given to payload size constraints of the network receiving entities that serve the MS, such as the Mobile Switching Center (MSC), the Base Station (BS), or other entities. If one (or more) of the network receiving entities cannot handle the payload size, the network sending entity must be informed of the problem, and it must then resegment the payload into smaller information units and resend them. This causes delay and needlessly ties up network resources.
Accordingly, a solution to the forgoing problem is required that enables teleservice payloads to always be sent in information unit sizes that can be accommodated by network receiving entities, such that message resegmentation and retransmission due to excessive payload size are avoided.